See Rome and die

Posted by on November 23, 2003

In Reply to: See Rome and die posted by Bob on November 23, 2003

: : A recent radio programme referred to the phrase "See Naples and die" and gave Goethe as the source. But what is the origin of See Rome and die?

: Somebody misquoting Goethe?

: There's no such quote as "See Rome and die," unless somebody just blew it. I don't know what Geothe said exactly, but the Italians say "Vedi Napoli e muore." What it means, of course, is that when you've seen Naples you've seen everything, and it's safe to die. Or something pretty close to that.